Today’s Readings: Psalm 16; Exodus 34:1-17; Luke 19:11-27; Philippians 1:27-30; Psalm 85
I’ve noticed a small but important shift in terms of people’s approach toward religion over the past 10-15 years. During the late 1980’s and much of the 1990’s, it seemed as if people were much more likely to form their faith by borrowing from a variety of religious traditions and putting them together piecemeal to form a religious view that worked for them. They would take the notion of a monotheistic God, for instance, from Judaism, Islam, and Christianity; they would take meditative practices from Buddhism; they would take the ecological views from Native American traditions; they would incorporate the use of religious icons from the Eastern Orthodox communities; and they would incorporate take a respect for all religious views that came from Unitarianism and the Baha’i traditions and make a faith that they could call their own. The guiding principle for this process was this: “I’ll create God in an image that works for me.” My biggest concern about this process was that folks were creating a God that simply looked like them and their interests. Over the past 10-15 years, however, I’ve seen a gradual shift to the point where folks are more likely to locate themselves within one particular religious tradition and wrestle to live into that faith. Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not suggesting that it’s spiritually healthy to simply accept a pre-packaged bill of goods that is presented to you by a Sunday school teacher, a pastor, or any other religious figure. What I do find encouraging about the development, however, is that it suggests people have largely moved beyond the place where their understanding of God is only as large as their own awarenesses and commitments and are open to thinking about a God bigger than themselves – a God shaped by insights and experiences of generations of adherents. So why am I thinking about all of this today? Today’s first Psalm (Psalm 16). In that Psalm, the Psalmist wrote: “Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names like brand-names… Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go” (Psalm 16:4,8 from The Message). I know it can be difficult to stick with one’s understanding of God as life presents challenges that don’t neatly fit your prior understandings and experiences of God. But just like in any relationship, there is tremendous value in hanging in there through the rough times and making things work. For those challenging times don’t just reveal new dimension of God to you – they reveal new dimensions of yourself to you as well. Til next time…
I’ve noticed a small but important shift in terms of people’s approach toward religion over the past 10-15 years. During the late 1980’s and much of the 1990’s, it seemed as if people were much more likely to form their faith by borrowing from a variety of religious traditions and putting them together piecemeal to form a religious view that worked for them. They would take the notion of a monotheistic God, for instance, from Judaism, Islam, and Christianity; they would take meditative practices from Buddhism; they would take the ecological views from Native American traditions; they would incorporate the use of religious icons from the Eastern Orthodox communities; and they would incorporate take a respect for all religious views that came from Unitarianism and the Baha’i traditions and make a faith that they could call their own. The guiding principle for this process was this: “I’ll create God in an image that works for me.” My biggest concern about this process was that folks were creating a God that simply looked like them and their interests. Over the past 10-15 years, however, I’ve seen a gradual shift to the point where folks are more likely to locate themselves within one particular religious tradition and wrestle to live into that faith. Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not suggesting that it’s spiritually healthy to simply accept a pre-packaged bill of goods that is presented to you by a Sunday school teacher, a pastor, or any other religious figure. What I do find encouraging about the development, however, is that it suggests people have largely moved beyond the place where their understanding of God is only as large as their own awarenesses and commitments and are open to thinking about a God bigger than themselves – a God shaped by insights and experiences of generations of adherents. So why am I thinking about all of this today? Today’s first Psalm (Psalm 16). In that Psalm, the Psalmist wrote: “Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names like brand-names… Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go” (Psalm 16:4,8 from The Message). I know it can be difficult to stick with one’s understanding of God as life presents challenges that don’t neatly fit your prior understandings and experiences of God. But just like in any relationship, there is tremendous value in hanging in there through the rough times and making things work. For those challenging times don’t just reveal new dimension of God to you – they reveal new dimensions of yourself to you as well. Til next time…
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